Page 30 of Corrupted Memories
Gianna
I change into a satin dress,the soft material flowing over my skin freely with the gentle wind. The night is growing colder, but someone turned on a standing heat lamp I hadn’t noticed on the balcony. I shift on my strapped heels, leaning into the railing as I look over the twinkling lights of the city. It’s been years since I’ve stepped foot in Chicago, but I love it here. Something about it always felt like home.
“Trisha said you don’t want to come to dinner,” Sebastian says from behind me. His deep voice slides over me and heat pools in my belly. Everything he does affects me; it always has.
I glance at him over my shoulder, unable to hold my smile back when I find his eyes on myass. “That’s not what I told her. I see she’s as incompetent as she is irritating.”
His gaze snaps up to meet mine and a single eyebrow raises. “Irritating? What did she do?”
My tongue presses against my teeth, demanding I don’t say what I want to. That I don’t give him the satisfaction of what I felt earlier today. “I just didn’t like her attitude. Who is she?”
Sebastian shrugs. “Assistant of sorts. Whatever I need her to be.”
Hearing the same words stabs me right in the chest, and I turn to face the city, trying to keep my breathing calm and my tears at bay. “Then I don’t get why I’m here if you have people to dowhatever you need.”
While beautiful, I suddenly detest the dress I’m wearing. I want to rip it off and toss it in the trash. It was watching the damn video that has me acting like a fool, trying to impress a man who doesn’t care about anything but being in control and getting his prize in the end.
The warmth of his chest presses into me, his hands curling next to mine over the railing. I shiver when his lips glide up my neck to the shell of my ear.
“Are you jealous,mon cœur?”
I suck in a breath.
My heart.
For years, I’ve wondered what he called me while we were in college. I knew Sebastian spoke fluent French that he often wielded for conversations he didn’t want me privy to. Out of spite, or perhaps because I felt a little forlorn, I forced myself to learn the language. My head tilts toward him. “Of course not.”
I feel his smile against my skin. “Liar.”
He pulls back, holding out my phone. “Your brother demands proof of life. Call him.”
A twinge of guilt courses through me, knowing I’ve been ignoring him as much as everyone else today. I grab it and turn to move off the balcony, but Sebastian keeps me in place. “Stay here. Make it quick. I’m still taking you to dinner.”
Blowing out a frustrated breath, I know it’s not worth arguing about. I look out over the water and dial my brother, who doesn’t even let me speak before yelling.
“What the fuck, Gianna? I’m literally about to board a plane because you haven’t answered me all day.”
Sebastian snatches the phone from my hand. “Watch how you speak to her,” he growls out before giving it back to me. He doesn’t move from his spot, pressing closer into my back, and I roll my eyes.
“So he’ll only let you call if he’s there with you?” Matt’s voice is cold and I can hear the engine of the airplane in the distance.
I sigh. “No. I was actually avoiding his calls all day when I left my phone in the room. I—I’m sorry I didn’t think of you.”
Sebastian’s hand flexes around my hip.
Matt is silent for a moment and I know he’s trying to control his anger. “Are you okay? Your bracelet?—”
“I know. Look, Sebastian was right. I signed the contract and I have to trust he’s not going to hurt me. Carrying multiple GPS trackers into his house isn’t a sign of trust.”
My brother scoffs. “Trust isn’t just handed over. He has to earn it, and what has he done to earn your trust? Blackmail you?”
Goosebumps pebble along my arms when Sebastian’s hand glides up my stomach, his thumb stroking the underside of my breast. My nipples harden, the tips evident in the thin material. I look up at him through my eyelashes, trying to control my breathing as he swipes his thumb over the sensitive bud before pinching it.
“Uhm. I understand what you are saying, but this is the deal I made. You have to let me try t-to, uh… handle it myself.” I stumble over my words as Sebastian’s arms circle around me, his other hand pulling at my dress and his fingers caressing the soft skin of my hip right under the waistband of my thong. The scent of his cologne, the warmth of his body, and being cocooned in his arms is overwhelming. I can’t focus on anything but him.
I fail to keep my eyes open when Sebastian presses a kiss against the small triangle of skin behind my ear and I shudder in his hold. It’s one of those spots that nearly undoes me every time. My fingers curl tighter around my phone and the balcony’s railing.
“Jeremy called me. He’s worried about you,” Matt says.
